“I would do that with you. Unless you need to be at the training center.”
“Nope. This is voluntary, but I need to get some solid time in.”
“There’s a great gym at my hotel.”
“I’m in.” Their food came, and they both moaned at the carb loading that was going on there. So good. “Oh, God, I’ll need to do double the workout,” Caleb told him.
“I hear you. But so good.” Hawk forked up some polenta and tasted the cheesy, salty goodness of it. “Yum.”
In the end, after the food and wine, they went back toHawk’s room for a nap by way of the Olympic village to grab Caleb’s overnight bag.
Hawk woke up spooning Caleb, his body warm and lax and happy. He nuzzled the back of Caleb’s neck before glancing at the clock and sighing. “Hey. Did you still want to hit the gym?”
“Shit.” Caleb sat right up, hair all over the place, and kissed him lightly. “Yeah. I need to get dressed and go down.”
“I’ll go with you. I seriously need to work off all the pastry and polenta and rice.” He wasn’t playing anymore, and while he worked hard to keep his body in top shape, he couldn’t suck down giant bowls of pasta like he used to and not pay for it.
Caleb climbed out of bed to grab his bag, changing into a pair of basketball-style shorts and a T-shirt. Hawk admired him for a moment, then got up and got dressed too.
At the gym, Caleb pulled out his ear buds. “You mind if I take the elliptical?”
Hawk looked at their choices. “That’s fine. I can take the bike.”
“Cool-cool. See you on the other side.” Caleb tucked in his earbuds again, then hopped onto the machine to get his groove on.
He got on the bike, because it was easier on his knees than the treadmill. He wondered if that was why Caleb had taken the elliptical. The treadmill was the usual choice for someone who needed cardio conditioning, because of the incline, but it was tough on the joints.
The elliptical was much easier on those. He put on his own headphones and got to work.
Forty-five minutes later he switched to the multi-purpose weight machine and worked some of the major muscle groups before finishing up with weighted squats and deadlifts.His squats were way more careful these days, but they weren’t off-limits as long as he used good form.
When he took off his headphones to start his cooldown, he caught Caleb sitting on the weight bench, watching him.
“You need a spot?”
“Nah. I was just doing some curls and some crunches. That knee had to have been agonizing, babe.”
Hawk glanced down, realizing his scars were on full display since he was wearing compression shorts. “It wasn’t fun, for sure.” He frowned up at Caleb. “Are you having joint problems?”
“Oh, you know.” Caleb’s cheeks went pink and he ducked his head. “It’s a high-impact sport, and I’m not getting any younger.”
“Yeah.” He snorted. “Out of our primes at just about thirty.” He was over, Caleb a little under, but still.
“Right?” Caleb groaned, then got up to stretch out a few places. “You ready for a shower?”
“Hell yes, I am.” Hawk absolutely adored taking a shower with Caleb and he loved that his hotel shower was big enough to do that, unlike the little shower that they had dealt with in Korea during the Olympics.
Amazed by how easy it was for him and Caleb to fall into a routine with each other and to just want to be together, he grinned at Caleb like a newborn fool. They hadn’t known each other very long at all, and it just floored him if he thought about it for too long.
Caleb nudged him. “Come on, you need some water. You didn’t bring any with you.”
He followed Caleb, watching the way the muscles in his legs moved, the way his ass shifted under those loose basketball shorts. Lord, he had it bad. He wasn’t gonna complain, though. He was just going to take it while he could.
He sucked down a full bottle of water when they gotupstairs, and then they hit the shower, soaping each other up, touching, but it wasn’t urgent. It wasn’t even terribly sexual. Caleb seemed worn down, and that worried him. Maybe Caleb had a bug or something, nothing that was contagious because he wasn’t sniffling or sneezing or even coughing, but he sure seemed sluggish.
“Do you think we could just stretch out on the bed and maybe watch a movie or something?” Caleb asked. “I know we had a nap before the workout, but?—”
“Baby, we can do whatever you want.” He wanted to spend time with Caleb, period. So it didn’t matter to him. The idea of lying in bed and snuggling, holding Caleb while they watched a movie was so appealing to him. So normal, such a downtime thing to do.